Tiffins

Location

Disney's Animal Kingdom in Discovery Island, Behind Pizzafari

Entree range

$35 to $60

Summary

When it opened, we thought Tiffins was one of the best restaurants in Walt Disney World. The quality of the food and service would have been right at home in any of Disney World's deluxe restaurants.

Times have changed, and Tiffins food and service have declined. It's prices have not. The food isn't bad, but the flavors and preparation lack the inventiveness and detail that Tiffins had when it opened.

Some of Tiffins' original waitstaff was recruited from Disney's best sit-down restaurants, including Victoria & Albert's, Artist Point, and Jiko. Many of them seem to have moved on. In their places are servers who sometimes struggle to project the old guard's warmth and service. The server for our most recent meal repeated verbatim the same opening greeting, menu introduction, meal check, and dessert offer, for us and every table around us. That's not necessarily bad - we're not expecting restaurant improv - but it was all done while peppering every other sentence with the word "friends" said so unenthusiastically it was comically distracting.

Tiffins is still a good choice, but the overall experience is more like dining in a nice restaurant for a theme park, instead of a nice restaurant.

Setting and Atmosphere

Located on Discovery Island, Tiffins is tucked behind the Pizzafari counter-service restaurant, on a walking path to the new land of Pandora. Inside, Tiffins is divided into 3 relatively small, quiet dining rooms, plus the Nomad Lounge bar. A wrap-around porch, located behind the dining rooms, offers outdoor seating.

Tiffins' decor is said to be inspired by the travel adventures of the Imagineers who built the Animal Kingdom. You'll see artifacts from Asia and Africa lining the walls of one room; giant butterflies in another. The main dining room’s centerpiece is carved wood sculptures. Yet with all of these, Tiffins still feels quiet and restrained.

House Specialties

The standout appetizers are the marinated grilled octopus and black-eyed pea fritters. For mains, try the whole-fried sustainable fish; Wagyu beef; or duck (if it's available). For dessert, the lime cheesecake or passion fruit tapioca are tasty.

Other Recommendations

The ramen soup ($39) is about twice as expensive as it should be; order something else. We'd skip the lobster curry soup and bread service appetizers. In the entree section, the vegetarian options are usually very expensive for what you get. Vegetarians might be better off ordering two appetizers as a main course. Between the whole fish and the halibut, we’d order the whole fish.

One last thing: if you're uncomfortable looking your food in the eye, don’t order the whole-fried fish. It's (still) delicious, but our fish's facial expression seemed to indicate that the deep fryer caught it by surprise.

Menus

• Lunch and Dinner
• Dessert
• Specialty Beverages and Wine List
• Lunch Tasting Menu
• Lunch and Dinner Kids'

Details

Requires Credit Card to Reserve: Yes
Requires Pre-payment in Full: No

Discounts

Disney Dining Plan

Photos